Monotype Offensive Balance Steel Team

CiferOscuras

CiferOscuras

Here is a Monotype team I made a few days ago:

Aegislash @ Weakness Policy
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 SpD
Adamant Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Swords Dance
- Iron Head
- Shadow Sneak
- Close Combat

Aegislash is the main Pokemon of my team. After a Swords Dance and a Policy Boost, Shadow Sneak KOs a lot of frail mons not at full health that don't resist it. With Aegislash's bulk, I can easily get to +6 and start sweeping teams. Before putting Iron Head I had Shadow Claw but I rarely clicked it and I'm wondering if Iron Head or King's Shield will be better instead. Aegislash is also a good switch-in for fighting type attacks, which I don't really have a good answer for.

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Brick Break

Excadrill is my team's revenge killer. It doesn't have Rapid Spin because I don't think my team is weak to hazards. However, I don't think I need Brick Break either as I rarely am in a situation where using it is better than Earthquake.

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Bulk Up
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Power Trip

Corviknight is my team's special tank. With Bulk Up it can become a formidable bulky sweeper. Mirror Armour is to help against Intimidate. Corviknight forms a nice core with Excadrill where they can cover ground and electric types, respectively. I am wondering if using Corviknight as a pivot might be better for my team because I am only able to bring in Aegislash or Lucario by sacking either Corviknight or Ferrothorn.

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Spikes

Ferrothorn is my physical wall. It helps me deal with water teams and spread residual damage. Protect is for scouting fire type moves. I sometimes use Ferrothorn as a lead.

Duraludon @ Leftovers
Ability: Stalwart
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpA / 4 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Flash Cannon
- Thunderbolt

Duraludon is my Stealth Rock setter. If I don't lead with Ferrothorn, I lead with Duraludon. Thunder Wave lets me disrupt the opposing lead. I'm using a bulkier spread because Duraludon can't take special hits very well and I want it to be able to get rocks up early on. I'm not opposed to using a faster spread. Duraludon is also one of two special attackers on my team.

Lucario @ Life Orb
Ability: Steadfast
EVs: 4 HP / 252 SpA / 252 Spe
Modest Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Nasty Plot
- Aura Sphere
- Dark Pulse
- Vacuum Wave

Lucario is my special sweeper. It's good against slower teams. I'm using Aura Sphere over Focus Blast because I want more accuracy. After a Nasty Plot boost, Aura Sphere OHKOs if it's super effective so I don't think I'll need the extra power.

This is my team. I would like to use it to get into 1500 elo or higher. Any feedback will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Pokepaste: https://pokepast.es/bf504bf1f6ecde21
 
Hey, I'm not someone who posts frequently in this forum but I have some changes that will (hopefully) improve the Steel team you have right now. Here are said changes:

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First and foremost, I believe Lucario isn't worth it as much on a Steel team compared to an amazing option that Steel received through Pokemon Home. Melmetal is easily one of the best wallbreakers Monotype has to offer at the moment, smashing through a majority of the metagame with Choice Band boosted Double Iron Bash. The Pokemon that aren't hit by Double Iron Bash are nailed down by its coverage moves in ThunderPunch and Superpower, so its virtually impossible to switch into it. On top of that, Double Iron Bash's flinch chance is great for flinching down Pokemon you can't straight up beat while being locked into Double Iron Bash like Toxapex and Galarian Corsola. Lucario is still decent for cteaming opposing Steel teams, but Dark teams have fallen out of fashion since Pokemon Home was released and Melmetal's a much better pick for this team. You still have other outs against the Steel mirror, like Corviknight, which has the potential to sweep with Duraludon's Thunder Wave support. The given EV spread allows it to outspeed Toxapex. If you do decide to keep Lucario, however, it's recommended you run Focus Blast as not being able to OHKO Corviknight at +2 is problematic otherwise.
Melmetal @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Superpower
- Double Iron Bash
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake

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I think that Duraludon's much better as a Choice Scarf user here compared to running bulky Stealth Rock. Choice Scarf Duraludon is great for cteaming the otherwise hard Dragon matchup, and forms a duel Choice Scarf core with Excadrill. Many Monotype teams in SS run two or more Choice Scarves to keep up with the offensively oriented metagame, and Steel is no different. Draco Meteor should be fine here over Flash Cannon in order to beat down Dragon-type Pokemon like Hydreigon and Dragapult. Since we already have a lot of Steel STAB on this team, with Excadrill and Melmetal both carrying powerful ones, we can drop Flash Cannon completely and compress both Stealth Rock and Thunder Wave while making room for Thunderbolt. Thunder Wave is great for slowing down Pokemon, namely Corviknight, while Thunderbolt is good coverage in the Water and Flying matchups. Stealth Rock on a Choice Scarf set may seem awkward, but it's fine to just set them against forced switches or against Pokemon that can't do much back to Duraludon. Light Metal is also better than Stalwart, as the latter is essentially useless in singles and Light Metal halves the damage of Low Kick.
Duraludon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt

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With Melmetal as a wallbreaker, I don't think you need Aegislash for physical wallbreaking with Swords Dance anymore. Instead, I think a Substitute + Toxic set would work a lot better here. Aegislash is one of those Pokemon in Monotype that can run quite a few sets, but I think Substitute + Toxic is the best bet here as it capitalizes on Aegislash's special bulk to spread status and its access to Kings Shield to stall out sun turns against Grass, which is surprisingly annoying to deal with as Steel. Choice Specs is also an alternative set, but I think this team has enough wallbreaking potential with Melmetal already beating down a majority of the slower metagame and Aegislash's special bulk making up for the lack of strong priority by stomaching stronger attacks like Venusaur's Weather Ball under sun.
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Substitute
- Shadow Ball
- Toxic
- King's Shield

On top of those, have more minor changes that I think would fit your team better.
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On Corviknight, I do believe that Taunt is a better option over Power Trip here. Taunt is incredibly good for stopping Haze, phazing, opposing setup, status, and hazards, supporting Corviknight immensely as a setup sweeper. Power Trip is a decent option, however Brave Bird is generally better right now as its immediate power is great for threatening Pokemon such as Keldeo right off of the bat.
Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Bulk Up
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Taunt

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On Excadrill, I do not believe Brick Break is very useful considering Steel's access to a good defensive core, making Screens more playaroundable. Rapid Spin, like you said before, is the better option on Excadrill because it can remove pesky hazards, namely Sticky Web and Spikes that annoy Steel teams.
Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
- Earthquake
- Rock Slide
- Iron Head
- Rapid Spin
These are the changes I'd make to hopefully make the team better, and I wish you luck with building in the future. Here is the final team, ask me on Discord as Decem #8776, Pokemon Showdown, or Smogon if you have any questions and how you could improve the matchup against certain things.

Balance Steel
:ss/aegislash: :ss/excadrill: :ss/corviknight: :ss/ferrothorn: :ss/duraludon: :ss/melmetal:
Aegislash @ Leftovers
Ability: Stance Change
EVs: 248 HP / 8 Def / 252 SpD
Calm Nature
IVs: 0 Atk / 0 SpA
- Substitute
- Toxic
- King's Shield
- Shadow Ball

Excadrill @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Mold Breaker
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Jolly Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Earthquake
- Iron Head
- Rock Slide
- Rapid Spin

Corviknight @ Leftovers
Ability: Mirror Armor
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SpD / 4 Spe
Careful Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Bulk Up
- Brave Bird
- Roost
- Taunt

Ferrothorn @ Leftovers
Ability: Iron Barbs
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SpD
Impish Nature
IVs: 0 SpA
- Power Whip
- Leech Seed
- Protect
- Spikes

Duraludon @ Choice Scarf
Ability: Light Metal
EVs: 252 SpA / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Timid Nature
IVs: 0 Atk
- Stealth Rock
- Thunder Wave
- Draco Meteor
- Thunderbolt

Melmetal @ Choice Band
Ability: Iron Fist
EVs: 244 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Spe
Adamant Nature
- Double Iron Bash
- Superpower
- Thunder Punch
- Earthquake
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1073804473
https://replay.pokemonshowdown.com/gen8monotype-1073801705-cmnz4arf8heqphcht6kyxidl2x4noiopw
 
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